Marine drive unit



Feb. 27, 1945. w VAN @ORDEN 25,370,212

MARINE: DRIVE UNIT Filled Sept. 25,` 1943 31 SheehS-Shee'b 1 Feb. 27, 1945. w VAN GORDEN 22,370,212

MARINE DRIVE UNIT Fild Sept. 23, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. WILL/AM H. VAN GoRoE/v BY Feb. 27, 1945- w. H. VAN GORDEN 2,370,212

MARINE DRIVE UNIT v:s sheets-sheet s Filed Sept. 23, 1943 INVENTOR. WILL/AM H. VAN 50mi/v Patented Feb. 27, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to drives for boats, and it is especially useful for very high speed boats such as Comm-ando boats.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a drive unit which gives greatly in-` creased speeds, can be readily installed and removed, and has a fast wheel Howthe foregoing, together with such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear or are incident to the invention are realized is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view illus trating the drive unit in a more or less diagrammatic form.

Figure 2y is a plan view of Figure l.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section illustrating certain details of the invention.

Figure 'l is a plan View of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 3. A A

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1 but drawn on a somewhat enlarged scale.

Figure 7 is a section through the rear end portion of the drive unit, also drawn on an enlarged scale, and y Figure 8 is an enlarged section taken on the line 8 8 of Figure 7. v

Referring now to Figure l, the unit indicated as a whole by the reference character A comprises the thrust tube I with ball 8, the bed plate 9 extending forwardly of the ball and carrying the motor I0, the drive shaft II, and the propeller I2. The ball swivels in the ring indicated as a whole by the reference letter b. This ring is comprised of two complementary yoke members I3 and I4, more clearly shown in Figures 3 to 5 inclusive. The ball has upper and lower pivot pins I5 tting in sockets in the yoke members which permits the unit to be swung through the steering gear, indicated asa whole by the reference character c and which may be of any conventional type. This makes it possible to dispense with a rudder, as the unit itself functions as a rudder.

The well is closed by the plates I6 and I'I.

The forward end of the bed plate 9 rests on the rubber roller or rollers I8 which provide a floating support somewhat similar in action to the support frequently employed for automobile motors.

Packing rings I9 may be provided to' prevent leakage past the ball.

Referring now to Figures 6, 7 and 8, it will be seen that the propeller shaft II has a taper hexagon 20 at itsy rear portion and that such portion is surrounded by the sleeve 2| which also has a taper hexagon to receive the hub 22 of the propeller I2. This dispenses with keyways which are out of balance and which, if used with speeds such as I contemplate, would produce heavy vibration.

At its forward end the sleeve 2| has a thrust plate 24 which delivers the thrust of the propeller to the thrust bearing 25 which comes up against the solid back 26. Thus the drive shaft is relieved of stress and tends to run with a minimum of vibration which makes for higher R. P. M.s and -higher speeds.

The rounded portion of the sleeve 2| adjacent to the thrust plate 24 runs in the ball bearings 2l which also makes for smooth running and in'- creased speed. Water is excluded from the tube I by the stuffing box packing and gland 28.

At suitable spaced points, depending upon the length of the particular unit, there are additional ball bearings 29 and 3D which also make for smooth running, minimum resistance and increased speeds. The propeller shaft is connected to the motor shaft by the coupling 3|.

The ring member E is securedto the boat as shown in Figure 2.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a very simple, smooth running unit which can be readily installed and removed and gives a fast WheeL The pivot point being Well forward gives greatly increased pivoting, as contrasted with the ordinary rudder, so that the boat responds to the slightest movement of the steering wheel. The unit is buoyant and, therefore, assists in getting the boat on top. It will be clear that it is possible to get away from ship or dock very readily even when the wind and tide are adverse. It will also be seen that a maximum of power is delivered to the propeller, and since the re'ar end of the thrust tube is the same size as the hub to the propeller, solid water delivers to the propeller. To assist in bringing 'the propeller back to normal, the tube 1 may be provided with ns 32.

The drive or propeller shaft may be made of steel.

The ball socket is a ground-fit normally watertight joint. The bearings may be lubricated in any desired manner as by forced feed with a feed pipe and return pipe leading from each bearing to a suitable source of pressure lubricant. The tube 7 may be arranged to take in cooling The propeller is secured by means of the nut water for the motor. To the rear of the bearing 3U is a water-tight disk 32 to prevent water from entering the boat through the tube 1 in the event that a tube leak develops, as, for example, might happen in case the boat hits something.

I claim:

1. A marine drive unit comprising a propeller and its drive shaft, a tube surrounding said shaft, a ball at the forward end of said tube, a bed secured to and extending forwardly of the ball, a motor on said bed, a ring adapted to be secured to the boat and in which the ball is pivoted or trunnioned, a coupling between the said shaft and the shaft of the motor, bearings for the drive shaft mounted in said tube, and supporting means for supporting the forward end of the bed with freedom for swinging of the unit, said supporting means being yielding.

2. A marine drive unit comprising a propeller and its drive shaft, a tube surrounding said shaft, a ball at the forward end of said tube, a bed secured to and extending forwardly of the ball, a motor on said bed, a ring adapted to be secured to the boat and in which the ball is pivoted or trunnioned, a coupling between the said shaft and the shaft of the motor, bearings for the drive shaft mounted in said tube, and a steering quadrant at the forward end of the bed.

3. A marine drive unit comprising a propeller and its drive shaft, a tube surrounding said shaft, a ball at the forward end of said tube, a bed secured to and extending forwardly of the ball, a motor on said bed, a ring adapted to be secured to the boat and in which the ball is pivoted or trunnioned, a coupling between the said shaft and the shaft of the motor, a sleeve on the aft end of the drive shaft and extending into the tube, said sleeve having a tapered polygonal portion and a circular portion adapted to iit into the hub of the propeller, a thrust bearing within the tube against which the forward end of said sleeve is adaptedto bear, bearing means in the tube aft of the thrust bearing, and a stuffing box gland aft of said bearing means.

4. A marine drive unit comprising a,.propeller and its drive shaft, a tube surrounding said shaft, a ball at the forward end of said tube, a bed secured to and extending forwardly of the ball, a motor on said bed, a ring adapted to be secured to the boat and in which the ball is pivoted or trunnioned, a coupling between the said shaft and the shaft of the motor, a sleeve on the aft end of the drive shaft and extending into the tube, said sleeve having a tapered polygonal portion and a circular portion adapted to t into .the hub of the propeller, a thrust bearing within the tube against which the forward end of said sleeve is adapted to bear, a ball bearing for the sleeve aft of the thrust bearing, and a stuiilng box gland aft of the ball bearing.

5. A marine drive unit comprising a propeller and its drive shaft, a tube surrounding said shaft, a ball at the forward end of said tube, a bed secured to and extending forwardly of the ball, a motor on said bed, a ring adapted to be secured to the boat and in which the ball is pivoted or trunnioned, a coupling between the said shaft and the shaft of the motor, a sleeve on the aft end of the drive shaft and extending into the tube, said sleeve having a tapered polygonal portion and a circular portion adapted to fit into the hub of the propeller, a thrust bearing within the tube against which the forward end of said sleeve is adapted to bear, a ball bearing for the sleeve aft of the thrust bearing, a stuffing box gland aft of the ball bearing, and bearing means for the drive shaft forward of the thrust bearing.

6. A marine drive unit comprising a propeller and its drive shaft, a tube surrounding said shaft, a ball at the forward end of said tube, a bed secured to and extending forwardly of the ball, a motor on said bed, a ring adapted to be secured to the boat and in which the ball is pivoted or trunnioned, a coupling between the said shaft and the shaft of the motor, and bearings for the drive shaft mounted in said tube, said tube having external fin means toward the aft end thereof.

7. The combination with a boat having a well or step a substantial distance forward of the stern, of a drive unit comprising a drive shaft tube having its forward end swiveled in the well and extending rearwardly below the hull and to a point adjacent to the stern, a motor bed attached to the forward end of the tube, a motor carried by said bed and having a shaft, a drive shaft extending through the tube, means for coupling the forward end of the drive shaft with the shaft of the motor, a propeller on the aft end of the drive shaft, bearing means in the tube for the drive shaft, and means for supporting the bed for swinging movement of the unit about its swivel.

WILLIAM H. VAN GORDEN. 

